The Best Destinations for a Vacation With Friends

The villas, hotels, and private enclaves ideal for when you want to get away—and bring all your favorite people with you.

By
Priscilla Eakerley

Mar 20, 2017

Charlotte Boston

Traveling the world in packs—and having a grand time doing it—is nothing new. But never has it been as de rigueur as now. Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece celebrated the new year in the Bahamas with pals Amanda Brooks and India Hicks—this on the heels of a girls weekend in Yorkshire. In January, Tory Burch and eight friends beat the cold by heading to her 27-acre spread in Antigua, a property once owned by Bunny Mellon. Gwyneth Paltrow flew to Punta Mita with her kids for film producer Crystal Lourd's 50th birthday back in 2015 and had such a good time that she did it all over again last year. Tequila entrepreneurs George Clooney and Rande Gerber don't even look for an excuse to take off, with or without wives Amal Clooney and Cindy Crawford. Here are 10 properties around the world we love—custom-made for peripatetic parties of all types.

Marrakech

The Hotel Royal Mansour in Marrakech.

Getty Images

Back in the 1980s, publisher Malcolm Forbes made a splash when he flew 1,000 guests to his palace in Tangier on private jets for his 70th birthday bash, which featured 600 belly dancers and a regiment's worth of sword-toting horsemen. You won't need your own palace for an unforgettable celebration now that you've made it into the Forbes 400, because King Mohammed VI has built one for you: the Grand Riad, a three-bedroom villa within Marrakech's Royal Mansour hotel, which His Highness commissioned (for an undisclosed amount of money). It's a marvel of sensory overload, covered with zellige tiles, elaborate plasterwork, and sculpted wooden doors. The 19,000-square-foot space comes with gym, cinema, swimming pool, tricked-out kitchen—ask the hotel's Michelin-starred chef to stop by—and a flower garden begging for a cocktail party. There's also a bath butler, a nice perk after you've been tramping around the souks. From the two-tier terrace there are sweeping views of the medina and the Atlas Mountains, and right outside your private entrance is the city that Yves Saint Laurent said "taught me color." Perfect for you and your caravan.

Sleeps: 8

To book:reservations@royalmansour.ma

Cost from $36,300 per night

To Do

Ask the concierge for a map of the chef's favorite shops in the medina for lemon confits, dried apricots, and tagines. Then enjoy the thrill of getting hopelessly lost.

Take a private tour of Villa Oasis, Saint Laurent's color-saturated home, where he lived and worked in the years before his death. This fall a new museum dedicated to his work will open next door.

Spend a night in a Berber desert camp. It's touristy, but the memories will long outlive the camel saddle sores.

With its cool breezes, strollable beach, and fortified medina, the seaside town of Essaouira, 2.5 hours away by car, is a delightful place to escape the heat.

...Or Kenya

For a safari experience that would make Hemingway rethink what macho means, beat a path with the guys to Finch Hattons, an eco-camp in Tsavo West National Park that has upped the luxury quotient to include personal yoga instructors and a hammam and has capped the number of tents at 17—the perfect size for a destination celebration (and above average for a premier camp in Africa). One thing remains constant, however: millions of acres of wilderness and those Kilimanjaro views.

Sleeps:38

To book:Contact Judy Matengo at judy@finchhattons.com

Cost: from $1,225 a night per person

Panama

Eco-correct Sweet Bocas floats above the Caribbean.

Anna Lorenzna

There's no flash in Bocas del Toro, an archipelago famed for both its biodiversity and its alabaster beaches off the Atlantic coast of Panama, and that's precisely what led former Montreal restaurateur Annick Belanger to build Sweet Bocas, an ultra-exclusive overwater villa with seven bedrooms, there. "For me, real luxury must be understated," she says. And back to basics: fresh-picked kiwi and papaya for breakfast, if you want, and perhaps the corvado (sea bass) you caught for dinner, the whole family seated around the 12-foot table. A session with the reiki instructor or masseuse will bring you the serenity that's so elusive back home. The 20,000-square-foot house, which seems to hover above the aquamarine waters like a mirage, was constructed from local teak by indigenous craftsmen (the entire compound is a paean to sustainability), and it's augmented by an infinity pool plunked in the ocean, a 42-foot catamaran, a 30-foot powerboat, a yoga studio, and an elaborate entertainment system. The two bedrooms on the third floor, which offer a Wii console and Lego toys galore, are perfect for the kids. As you rock in one of the seven hammocks inside the house, frosty margarita in hand, don't be surprised if the bottlenose dolphin you swam with swings by to say hello.

Sleeps: 14, with many additional bunks for children

To book:info@sweetbocaspanama.com

Prices on request

To Do

Pile into the powerboat for a day of island hopping and snorkeling. The reefs teem with iridescent sponge corals, sea anemones, and more.

Travel by traditional dugout cayuco into the rainforest for a look at blue-headed parrots, howler monkeys, and three-toed sloths in their natural habitat.

Visit Ngäbe-Buglé straw hut villages. No humdrum song-and-dance show, this is a chance to engage meaningfully with the largest native group in Panama. Interpreter provided.

Spend a day in Panama City at the BioMuseum, designed by Frank Gehry. Panama has more species of bird, mammal, and amphibian than the U.S. and Canada combined.

…Or Cartagena, Columbia

For an intimate atmosphere in one of South America's most romantic cities, look no further than the 16th-century Casa de Indias, where the burnt orange and indigo walls, leafy interior courtyard, and warren of 10 secluded bedrooms are made for spilling secrets. Lest the pillow talk get too intense, owner and interior designer Lina Botero employs a boat captain and a concierge for jaunts out and about town—just the flair one would expect from the daughter of artist Fernando Botero. Sleeps: 16. To book:Contact Eric Sheets at eric@latinexcursions.com, Costs from $3,500 per night

The Cotswolds

Relaxed and refined Cornwell Manor.

Charlotte Boston

Looking for a spot that hits the right balance between elegance and informality? Movie director Nancy Meyers, known for her discerning eye, struck cinematic gold in 2006 while shooting The Holiday when she sent Jude Law and Cameron Diaz to Cornwell Manor, set on 2,000 acres of rolling hills covered in ancient oaks in the Cotswolds. The refinement of the 12-bedroom Georgian house—period antiques and rococo plasterwork in the drawing room, Jacobean paneling in the dining room, a formal ballroom, family portraits and busts at every turn—is the perfect counterpoint to the relaxed sporting vibe outdoors. Play some croquet or badminton on the front lawn, or tennis out back; look for deer in the woodlands; or simply take a long walk around the grounds. And, oh, what grounds they are: Flights of broad stone steps link terraced expanses with a water garden, fishing lakes, and endless manicured lawns. There's even a private chapel for tying the knot or renewing vows, and an irresistible ha-ha (for the non-gentry among us, that's recessed landscaping) for drinks and meals. "The house hugs you," said one recent guest. "And that's a very rare thing."

Sleeps: 16

To book: Contact Adam Coats at acoats@redsavannah.com

Costs: from $31,520 per week

To Do

With cheese-rolling contests, wool sack races, dwile flonking, and Morris dancing, the Cotswolds are a hotbed of British eccentricity. Check cotswolds.info for event listings.

Daylesford Farm Shop, the organic food temple owned by Lady Bamford, is just down the road.

The Wild Rabbit Inn, one of the best pubs in the Cotswolds, is near the Farm Shop. Don't expect dart-throwing barflies, though. Like the manor, this place is posh.

Hire classic Jaguar XKEs for the day (they seat two, so plan accordingly) and head to Stow-on-the-Wold, six miles away, where the antiques on offer will make your car look like a bargain.

…Or Ireland

Who says a house party has to be in a house? Belmond has rolled out the Belmond Grand Hibernian, a luxury train with 20 tartan-bedecked cabins (and two restaurant cars) that can be chartered for as few as two days. You set the itinerary as you chug around the Emerald Isle, with potential stops ranging from ancient castles and the Cliffs of Moher to golf at Lahinch and historic Cork. Even better: The staff includes a designated driver for all that whiskey sampling. Sleeps:40. To book: Contact Debra O'Brien at debra.obrien@belmond .com, prices on request

Italy

William Astor's villa, finally available for rent.

Eric Sander

"Go and enjoy yourself, my dear boy," said President Chester A. Arthur to William W. Astor on his appointment as minister to Italy in 1882. It's fortunate that Astor, one of the richest men on earth at the time, took the directive to heart, or there might not be a Villa Astor today. The magnificent six-bedroom clifftop estate in Sorrento, available for rent this year for the first time, is stuffed with antiquities the tycoon acquired during his time in Italy, and it commands one of the most spectacular views in the entire country: the city of Naples to the right, the isle of Procida to the left, and mighty Vesuvius directly in front of you ("the most impressive exhibition of the energies of nature I ever saw," according to Percy Bysshe Shelley). Designer Jacques Garcia (of La Mamounia fame) oversaw the latest renovation; Grazia, the villa's housekeeper, has been tending to guests such as Princess Margaret for 35 years; and the five acres of gardens, with priceless statuary, gurgling fountains, and 2,000 plant species, have changed little since Astor bought the place. At night it's togas optional for a moonlight dip in the ancient Roman grotto. Because even though you're a year older, you're still young at heart.

Sleeps: 12

To book: Contact Mara Solomon at mara@homebase abroad.com

Cost: from $70,710 per week

To Do

Take in the crenellated Amalfi Coast from the sea (no bus fumes!), then climb the 2,269 steps to the village of Nocelle for great views and to work off all that gelato.

Travel from the villa's private dock by speedboat to Capri, where you can swim in deserted coves.

The three Greek temples at Paestum, among the loveliest and least crowded in Italy, are a short helicopter trip away.

What's Italy without fashion? Appointment-only Napoli ateliers make you look as distinguished as Astor himself.

Floral Arrangement Bianca Brandolini D'Adda and Eva Herzigova.

…Or Tuscany

Modern art more your thing? Tramonti, a 17th-century villa on 200 acres in Chianti, is filled with works by leading contemporary artists, and the eye candy continues outdoors with two swimming pools and views of vineyards, olive groves, and the spires of villages in the distance. Along with seven bedrooms, a media room, and a gym, expect impeccable taste: The English owner is on the acquisitions committee of one of the world's great museums (sorry, we aren't allowed to say which one). Sleeps: 14. To book:Contact Chiara Guidi at cguidi@redsavannah.com, Costs from $11,860 per week

Australia

The Heritage Villas.

One&Only Wolgan Valley

One of the advantages of staying at a villa within a resort is that you have both privacy and the use of all the resort's facilities. For the 4,400-square-foot Wolgan Villa, that means access to Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley's restaurants, stable of horses, spa, and gym (should you decide that the kangaroos hopping by your lap pool aren't company enough). Not that you'll be spending much time in the gym: The resort's setting, on a 7,000-acre Jurassic Park–like preserve backed by the rugged Blue Mountains three hours west of Sydney, is spectacular. In the morning the steep sandstone escarpments surrounding the valley are shrouded in a Brigadoon mist so otherworldly even longtime employees catch their breath. At night the sky blazes with the Milky Way and the Pleiades (summer), and the eucalyptus-scented air rings with the exotic chatter of nocturnal birds and animals. Best of all: As the first carbon-neutral resort in the world—not a tree was removed during construction—Wolgan Valley is proof that environmental awareness and five-star luxury can go hand in hand.

Sleeps: 6

To book:Contact info@oneandonlywolganvalley.com

Cost: from $4,670 per day, all-inclusive

To Do

Horseback riding, bush walking, mountain biking, and off-roading are among the resort's first-rate ways of exploring the terrain.

Thailand's full moon parties pale in comparison with what goes on here when the kookaburras, wombats, and other creatures cut loose after sunset. Sign up for the night tour.

Wollemi pines, which have been around for 30 million years and had been thought to be long extinct, were discovered growing in a nearby canyon in the 1990s. The site is off-limits, but you can see a grove of cultivated trees at the resort.

Charles Darwin's encounter with the valley's platypuses was a pivotal event in the development of his theory of evolution. The on-site homestead he visited in 1836 is now a museum.

…Or New Zealand

The seven-suite Otahuna Lodge, a Queen Anne gem just outside Christchurch, was built as an elaborate wedding present in 1895 and has since morphed into a grand country house hotel and foodie mecca, with 30 acres of formal gardens and sheep-dotted pastureland, and views of the Southern Alps. More than a million daffodils bloom in spring, 120 different fruits and vegetables are grown on-site, and the wines are exceptional. Sleeps: 14. To book:Contact Sophia Parsons at enquiries@otahuna.co.nz, Costs from $5,837 per night (for 10 guests, all-inclusive) or $949 per room per night for non-exclusive use

This story originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of Town & Country.

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